Somewhere out there a car thief is going through withdrawal – from Jane’s Addiction, that is.
A little more than a week ago the story of an Everett woman’s GMC Suburban being swiped from a Bellevue Park &Ride lot and recovered six days later was featured in The Herald. Cindi Morrison lost her truck, a hidden house key and receipts with personal information on them. In return she got her truck – a much smellier smoke-filled version of it – trash, pictures of strangers and Jane’s Addiction CDs.
She also got a week of stress and trouble that is all too familiar to many people who find themselves the victims of property crimes.
With the holiday season practically upon us, it isn’t too soon to remind people to pay extra attention to their surroundings and their vehicles as they navigate congested streets, crowded malls and, often, dark parking lots.
News that property crimes are on the rise in Snohomish County while down statewide doesn’t necessarily scream for an explanation. Law enforcement officials who suggest the lagging economy, combined with drug and alcohol abuse, is to blame for the situation are probably not far off the mark. These criminals are hardly Jean Valjeans struggling to feed their families with a stolen loaf of bread. They’re struggling to feed their habits. And they’re not likely to get the sympathy of a community of victims left to pick up the pieces.
For years, people have had to lock their mailboxes or go the post office box route in order to avoid mail theft and the ensuing agony of identity theft. Early morning workers who turn on their cars to let them warm up in the driveway have been warned it’s better to drive to work in a cold car than no car at all. Recently, residents of Everett’s Rucker Hill neighborhood learned they could relax a little after police caught the suspects who allegedly broke into their homes and snooped around while they were sleeping. And in Monroe and Snohomish, the bogeymen supposedly responsible for a dozen burglaries and thefts in the area turned out to be women in their 20s.
Working to reduce crime in one area often just moves it somewhere else, law enforcement officials say. Maybe that’s what Snohomish County is experiencing right now. Whatever the reason, we should do all we can to help police by taking every safety precaution we can think of. As many of us already know, our best efforts won’t stop every criminal, but they might just keep some from feeding their addictions with our prized possessions.
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